Dreaming
by Anna Skywalker
Summary: Prequel to Memory. COMPLETE!Summary: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan must help an old friend battle the organization, while she and Obi-Wan battle the inevitable. Revised as of March 2005
1. Chapter 1

Dreaming 

Disclaimer:  I don't own Star Wars.  I own only my original characters, which I wouldn't give away for a million dollars *sticks out tongue* well...a million?  Maybe you can borrow them...for a million....no?  How about 100,000?

A/N:  Hiya everyone!  I'm back with the prequel to Memory.  **This fic can stand alone**, of course, since it's a prequel and not a sequel.  I've got a thing for one-word titles, huh?  If you can think of a better one, I'd love to hear it!  Right now I'm praying that I find a way to incorporate dreams in this fic!

A/N: New: Revised and fixed up and generally a lot better! 

A/N: I really, really need feedback.  Please review if you read.  You know it's like stealing if you don't.  I don't get paid for writing this.  All I want is feedback, and I refuse to write if I don't get any.

An eighteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi paced his quarters.  He was thinking of an old friend, a Jedi student who had left the Temple when she was only twelve years old, to try and save her planet from the grasp of a powerful organization.  He frowned and shook his head.  Sara was far away now, and it was very unlikely that he would ever see his friend again, so he might as well stop dwelling on it.  He lay down on his sleep couch and stared at the ceiling.         

Qui-Gon knocked and walked in.  "We have a mission."

Obi-Wan sat up.  "Where to?"  A mission was always welcome after they'd been at the Temple for a while.

"Sara Garnett has requested Jedi assistance with her negotiations with The Trapper and Hunter Corporation," Qui-Gon answered.

"Sara?"  

Qui-Gon nodded.  "We have to leave for Mirith in three hours."

Obi-Wan shook his head.  "How strange.  I was just thinking about Sara."

Qui-Gon handed him a datapad.  "Here, this is the research you'll need to read up on before we leave.

"Yes Master," Obi-Wan replied taking the datapad.  Qui-Gon left and Obi-Wan began looking over the information.  

**Mirith was originally inhabited only by the sentient class Drakon and the sentient class called Maleiro, along with many different species of non-sentient animals and plants.  Two hundred years ago, humans started arriving on Mirith.  They were greeted in a friendly manner by the Drakons.  They were allowed to stay, on the condition that they do not hunt the animals there, or in any way encroach on their territory.  The humans set up a colony and named it Marwai.  Over time, more humans and aliens arrived on Mirith, many bringing with them endangered and rare species of animals.  In a treaty between the Drakon, Maleiro, and off-worlders, a great fence was built, surrounding a 100,000-mile radius, with Marwai at its center.  Any new species brought to Mirith would be forced to remain on the Marwai side of the fence to assure the preservation of Mirith's natural eco system.  The fence was finished in two years.**

**Eventually, over a period of two hundred years, the colony of Marwai became the city Marwai.  The off-worlders organized themselves and elected a king to the throne. And thus the Great Palace of Marwai was built.  From then on, the Marwai-side of Mirith was a Monarchy.  Mirith refused all requests to join the Republic, in order to insure their interests in keeping Mirith a sanctuary.**

**Six years ago, a group known as the Trapper and Hunter Corporation invaded Mirith and made it their headquarters.  THC is a group that travels from system to system, hunting rare and valuable animals for profit.  The first battle Marwai had seen took place as a result.  The current king of Marwai, Jaran Garnett, petitioned the Republic for help but the request was refused, because Mirith was not part of the Republic and had no intention of joining.  Jaran turned to the Jedi next.  He requested a Jedi team to help negotiate with the organization.  The request was accepted.  Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Tahl were sent to settle the dispute.  **

**They were close to an agreement when King Jaran was assassinated.  An all-out war broke out and the Jedi were forced to flee the planet.  As the Jedi made their way to their transport, they discovered the heir to Mirith, a two-year-old girl named Sara, being guarded by a dying Drakon.  The Jedi took the girl back to their transport and, out of curiosity, tested her for Force-sensitivity.  Sara had a high enough midichlorian count to be trained as a Jedi.  Although she was not the ideal age to begin Jedi training, she had enough potential to at least undergo more testing.  She was taken to the Temple, and after a few more tests, was accepted.**

The report ended there.  Obi-Wan knew what had happened to Sara, even though the report didn't include it.   Sara had left the Jedi when she was twelve years old, when she'd learned of her origin.  Sara hadn't even known what she intended to do about the situation on Mirith, but she had felt certain that this was her destiny.  He had not heard from his friend since the day she'd left, but the memory of the last time he'd seen her still burned fresh in his mind. 

_Sara, Qui-Gon and I stood on the landing platform, waiting for Sara's transport.  We waited there, not speaking.  Her transport arrived a moment later.  She hugged Qui-Gon good-bye and turned to me.  She hugged me too.  I was still angry with her for leaving and almost didn't hug her back.  But I did.  She whispered in my ear "I'm sorry I had to leave.  Please forgive me."  With that she turned abruptly and got on her transport.  She did not look back._

Obi-Wan set the datapad down and started packing for his journey to Mirith.  

                                                                *******

On the transport, Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan more about the current situation on Mirith.

"When Sara first arrived on Mirith, she was welcomed almost immediately as the heir to Marwai's throne.  After living with the exiles for a few years, she became their leader.  Her group consists of anyone who escaped THC's attack on the city and a few Drakons and Maleiro who support their cause.  The exiles are residing in a canyon about a four hour's journey from the palace."

Obi-Wan shook his head.  "I can hardly believe it.  Though I have to admit, it does sound like the Sara I know."

Qui-Gon smiled briefly and continued. "Sara has an army ready, but she still wants to try and negotiate with Nareth, the Organization's current leader.  She does not think they can win a battle against him.  So far, Nareth has ignored all attempts to negotiate with him.  Hopefully, he will listen to Jedi."

 "It will be nice to see her again," stated Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon nodded. "Yes, it has been a long time."

The journey to Mirith took a little over a day.  When they arrived, they were forced to land a day's journey from the canyon city.  Sara had contacted them earlier, telling them she would be sending a guide.  The Jedi looked around them but at first saw only the ocean away to their left and the beginning of the rocky canyon before them.  But a moment later a figure in a dark green cloak approached, carefully climbing down the steep path from the direction of the canyon.

The person stopped a few feet away from the Jedi and removed her hood.  She had dark brown hair tied back in a long, single braid, and very bright green eyes. She wore a tunic and black pants tucked into knee-high boots. An old fashioned sword was strapped to her left side and a blaster to her right.  At first, Obi-Wan couldn't recognize her.  Then he grinned as he realized it was Sara.  His grin disappeared when she drew her sword and took up what was obviously an aggressive stance.

She pulled another sword from a sheath on her back and tossed it in front of the Jedi.  It stuck in the ground in front of them.  Sara stood, waiting.

At first, Qui-Gon found her actions puzzling.  He couldn't sense any anger from her.  Quite the contrary, she was happy to see them.  Suddenly, he understood.  He strode forward, picked up the sword, and launched straight into an attack.  Sara grinned in satisfaction and parried his blow.  

Obi-Wan watched incredulously as the fighters crossed swords again and again.  Finally, Qui-Gon disarmed her and she put her hands up in defeat, smiling.  Qui-Gon held the blade close to her neck, smiling as well.

"Damn.  Lost again," Sara said, grinning.

Qui-Gon let the sword drop to the ground.  Sara lowered her hands and embraced her old friend.  She then walked over to Obi-Wan and smirked at him.  

"I'll be fighting you next, so don't let your guard down."

Obi-Wan just stared at her.  Sara laughed and hugged him, too.  Obi-Wan hugged her back, still confused.  

Sara pulled away.  "What's with the bewildered look?  Don't tell me you Jedi don't spar anymore."

Obi-Wan finally understood.  "Of course.  We normally don't just walk up and attack our friends though."

"Surprise is half the fun, and half the challenge," Sara said, grinning.  "It's so good to see both of you again," she added.

Obi-Wan returned her smile.  "Good to see you too."

Sara turned, put two fingers to her mouth and whistled.  A huge, white dog-like creature (presumably a Maleiro) and a copper-colored Drakon stepped out from behind the side of the canyon and walked towards them.  The Maleiro was unusually large compared to most canine species.  Her head would have come up past Qui-Gon's elbow.  But if the Maleiro was large, the Drakon was gargantuan.  His lizard-like head towered over Qui-Gon, and the wingspan of his folded wings was close to forty or fifty feet if they were stretched to their full length.  

Qui-Gon smiled.  "Hello Drake, Sobi," he greeted them.  He recognized them both from his last visit to Mirith.

Sara gestured to Drake. "This is Drake, one of the most valuable members of my council.  And this," she said indicating to the Malerio, "is Sobi, my captain of the guard as well as a member of my council."

Sobi bowed her head slightly and greeted the Jedi.   Drake smiled, revealing quite a few sharp, white teeth.  "Nice to see you Qui-Gon."  He indicated to Obi-Wan.  "Who's this?"

"This is my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi," he answered. 

Obi-Wan bowed.  "It's an honor to meet you—"

He was interrupted by the sound of Sara's laughter.  He gave her a questioning look.  "Oh, sorry, I just didn't expect you to be so formal," she said.  She didn't give Obi-Wan the chance to replay, but beckoned the Jedi toward the canyon.  "Come on, we'd better get moving if you want to get there by tomorrow."

"When will we get to the canyon city?" Obi-Wan asked.

"About mid-morning tomorrow if we stop for the night."

Qui-Gon fell into step beside her and Sobi.  "Have you arranged a meeting with Nareth?" 

Sara looked slightly uncomfortable.  "No, he would've refused, had I asked.  But he can't refuse Jedi."

Qui-Gon nodded.  "It shouldn't be a problem."

Sara bit her lip slightly.  "Do you think you can get them out of here?  Maybe find a way to convince them to allow us to pay them off?"

Qui-Gon hesitated.  "I don't know.  They don't seem like the type to allow themselves to be bought off," he said.

"It's unfortunate situation.  Maybe if we'd just joined the Republic we wouldn't be in this mess," Sara replied.

Obi-Wan shrugged.  "Perhaps.  But you want to remain independent, right?  If you joined the Republic you might not be able to keep things the way you want them. "

Sara nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced.  They made their way up the rocky path.  Soon they came upon Sara's horse, Lethlias, who was tethered to a small, malnourished tree that had somehow struggled to grow among the rocks.  

"I rode Lethlias up here because I needed to keep up with Sobi and Drake, but now I'll just lead him.  I wasn't able to bring more horses," Sara explained as she untied the black horse's tether.  

She gestured for the others to walk ahead of her and she took up the rear.  It was dark when they reached a small cave in the side of the canyon wall that Sara had set up for a shelter.   She walked inside and tethered Lethlias to the branch of a small, scrawny bush that grew in a corner.   They set up a small fire in the center of the cave and sat near it, relaxing for a while.  The humans and Drake engaged in conversation, catching up on things, but Sobi remained silent.  After a while, she stood abruptly and padded out the cave entrance.

"I'll be keeping watch," she said shortly.

Obi-Wan looked curiously at Sara.  "Is something troubling her?"

Sara's eyes were dim.  "She recently lost her mate in a raid.  The THC has been cracking down on us lately.  They raided most of the medical supplies.  You two are the only people left who have a hope of preventing an all-out war."

"If war does break out, there will be no more we can do.  We were not summoned her to take place in a war," Qui-Gon warned.

Sara sighed.  "I figured as much.  I understand."  She lowered her eyes to the ground.  "I'm reluctant to admit, there are advantages to no longer being a Jedi."

Obi-Wan was surprised.  "What do you mean?"

"For once, I can truly choose my own destiny.  I can do what I think is right without the council breathing down my neck."  Sara smiled.

Obi-Wan was silent, not knowing what to say.  Sara looked up, bewildered.  

"Don't give me that look.  It was the only decision I could've made.  I _had _to leave," she said defensively. What was his problem all of the sudden?

She stood abruptly.  "I'm tired.  I'll be sleeping on the other side of the cave if anyone needs me."

"What about Sobi?"  Obi-Wan asked.

Sara shook her head.  "If she went out there to be left alone, we shouldn't bother her.  She'll come in when she feels like it."

A few minutes later, everyone was settled.  A few minutes after that, everyone was asleep, too.  Only Obi-Wan found sleep elusive.  He kept thinking about how much Sara had changed.  He didn't think she'd take such a negative view of the Jedi Order.  No matter how much he told himself that she belonged back in the Order, he couldn't help the feeling that she definitely belonged here.    

Sara sat up and looked over at him out of the corner of her eye.  "You're thinking about me."

Surprised Obi-Wan looked over at her.  "Yes.  You've changed a lot."

Sara turned around and faced him.  "You're disappointed in me.  You think I should have stayed with the Jedi."

Obi-Wan had forgotten how well Sara could read people, especially him.  "Maybe."

Sara sighed.  "I had no choice.  I started to have visions, Obi-Wan.  And dreams....terrible ones."  She gave him a stern look.  "I thought you understood."

"Dreams and visions do not last forever," Obi-Wan said carefully.  "What did you hope to accomplish by returning to Mirith at twelve years old?  There wasn't anything you could have done."

Sara smiled.  "I was a very...confident twelve-year-old.  Do you think I understood that?  All I knew was that people I had a connection to were suffering, and I wanted to help in any way that I could.  And I did.  I...I would've gone crazy if I had been forced to sit back and endure that.  It was like having a knife lodged in my heart."

Obi-Wan sighed.  "I guess I can understand that."

Sara grinned.  "If it makes you feel better, I missed the Jedi Temple.  I still do, actually.  That was the first home I ever knew, and no other place will ever truly feel like home."

Obi-Wan smiled.

Sara laughed.  "Feel better?  Are you assured that I haven't undergone a brainwashing?"

It was Obi-Wan's turn to laugh.  "Yes."

"Good.  Get some sleep because you are going to busy tomorrow."

                                                                        ********

Please R&R!  Just one or two words are fine.  Yeah, reviewing is kind of a pain, but it really means a lot to the author.  Should I continue, or just ditch it?  I'm doing my best to keep the chapters relatively short. Originally, this fic had like 15-17 pages per chapter, and there were only four chapters, lol.

Revisions....wheee.


	2. Chapter 2

Dreaming, chapter 2 

For disclaimers and warnings, see previous chapters.  Thanks reviewers!  I love you all!

A/N: Thanks for the advice, vindicators, I'll keep that in mind.   Eleia Kenobi, I'm confused.  Anna DID get married.  To Fen.  Did you read the epilogue of Memory?  *Looks stern* it looks like you didn't review Memory...haha, just kidding.

Sorry Tal, I can't promise anything.  What, you want them to just all of the sudden start making out?  I think that might be a little weird....

Sara woke them all up very early in the morning.  It was still pitch-black outside.  So far, Sara had managed to wake up everyone except Obi-Wan.  

Sara knelt down next to Obi-Wan and shook him.  "Come on now, the view won't be nearly as nice if we don't get going now."  

She looked over at Qui-Gon.  "Is he this hard to wake up _every_ morning?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at her.  "Only when his friends keep him up late talking."

Sara reddened.  "Oops."  Obi-Wan and Sara had not gone to bed the night before as planned.  Neither of them could sleep, so they stayed up most of the night talking.  She turned back to Obi-Wan, who was still fast asleep.  "Can I slap him?"

Qui-Gon shrugged.  "Whatever works."

Sara drew back her hand.  "Please don't be mad at me..." Sara slapped him fairly hard across the face.  Obi-Wan woke up with a jolt. 

"What the...?"

Sara smiled sweetly.  "Wake up you lazy Jedi!"

Obi-Wan touched his face.  "Ouch...did you really have to slap me?"

Sara nodded.  "I tried everything else.  Now get up.  We have to get going."

Obi-Wan stood up.  "Alright, I'm awake now.  Are you happy?"

Sara got up as well.  "Absolutely!  Now let's go."  

They headed for the mouth of the cave.  Sara turned to Drake.  "Go ahead and fly to the city.  There's no point in you walking all that way."

Drake nodded and took off, which was quite a sight.  As soon as he was no longer visible, Sara turned back to the Jedi. 

"I'll take up the rear, since I have Lethlias with me.  Sobi will take the lead.  The city isn't too far now."

And so in that order, they walked through the narrow trail in the canyon.  This time, Sara rode her horse instead of just leading him.  

To their right was the wall of the canyon and to their left was endless canyon and rock, with the ocean just barely visible on the horizon.  They could just barely make out the path in front of them in the dim light.  Obi-Wan hung back so that he could talk with Sara as they walked.  

"Sorry I slapped you," she said.  "Qui-Gon said it was alright and I didn't know how else to wake you up."

Obi-Wan sighed.  "It's alright.  Do you really think we'll be able to negotiate with THC and convince them to leave?"

Sara thought for a moment.  "I have the utmost faith in your abilities, but Nareth is very stubborn, and very smart.  He won't leave unless he thinks it will gain him something.  Which it won't.  THC was right; Mirith is the best place for their headquarters, even if it is a little out of the way."

"So why are you asking us to negotiate with them?"

Sara sighed.  "I want to avoid war, I really do, but I think it's inevitable.  But if there's even the slightest chance of avoiding it, I'll take it.  Aside from that, if I start a war without trying to negotiate first, I'll likely lose the support of many people.  If we're going to win, I'll need every bit of help I can get." 

Obi-Wan frowned.  "Then you're just using us to gain supporters?"

Sara looked shocked.  "Of course not.  I'd never do that.  I truly hope that you two will find a way to convince him to take his stupid organization and leave.  Gaining support is simply a result of attempting negotiations."

"She sighed.  "I suppose you'll leave if it gets to the point of war?"

Obi-Wan nodded.  "I'm afraid so.  We can't fight in a war with you."

"A shame.  I'll miss you," Sara replied softly.

"We can keep in touch, you know.  I'm sure no one would care if we sent one another messages."

"I'd like that," she replied, smiling.  

Obi-Wan felt his face go warm and forced himself to turn away.  _"That's the last thing I need"_

Sara seemed to understand and remained silent for the rest of the journey.  When he wasn't looking, she studied his fixed expression.  She smiled to herself.  "_Don't worry about me, Obi-Wan.  I have too many other things to worry about to be thinking about taking any romantic interests in anyone.  Particularly you of all people._"    

For a moment, Sara was tempted to consider what things would be like if he wasn't a Jedi and she wasn't stuck on Mirith playing princess.  She shook her head.  There was no point in wishing for the impossible.  She turned her gaze from Obi-Wan to the road ahead, and they both walked on, each focused on the path before them.

Before long, they reached the end of the curving path and the canyon city of exiles was visible.  The small domed houses dotted a wide, flat area of the endless sea of orange and brown rock.  Not far from the housing, the canyon came to and end and the sea of rock was replaced by a sea of green fields. 

Sobi paused a moment to take in the sight.  With a shake of her head, she continued walking, turning down a winding path that lead to the city.  Sara told Qui-Gon to go on ahead.  

She turned to Obi-Wan and gave him a keen look.  "Don't forget what I said, Obi-Wan.  I'll be dueling you, next."  She walked past him.  Obi-Wan stared after her.  Sara was so weird these days.

"I'll take you to meet my council now, if you like."

Qui-Gon nodded.  "That will be fine."

Sara led them to a large dome in the center of the city.  Inside, Sara's council waited.  Sara introduced them one at a time.  There was a bothan named Traj, Sobi, Drake, a good-humored human man named Jai and a very serious woman named Mari.  

"These are the Jedi I summoned.  Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Traj nodded.  "Have you arranged a meeting yet?"  

"Well, as we're in the communications building, I could contact him now, if you like," she said turning to the Jedi.  

Qui-Gon nodded and she beckoned them over to a large screen.  A moment later, Nareth's scarred face appeared on the screen.  Nareth was young —not too much older than Sara— and would be considered handsome except for the long scar that went from above his right eyebrow, across the top of his nose, and ended at his cheek.  He was dressed all in black with a cape closed by a silver clasp in the shape of a Drakon skull.

He smiled.  It wasn't a nice smile.  More like the smile of a predator before it swallows up a small creature.  

"How nice of you to call, Miss Garnett."  His voice was smooth, nice, and suggested that he was a perfect gentleman, but a small trace of malice in his tone showed his true character. That was the thing with Nareth.  He always seemed as if he were mocking someone, no matter what he said.

Sara held back a scowl.  "The Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi would like to speak to you in regard to negotiations."

Nareth laughed.  "Really Miss Garnett.  What a sense of humor you have.  I thought we were all done talking.  I believe I made that clear when we raided your storehouse."

This time, Sara did scowl at him.  Although she was clearly irritated, she kept her tone even.  She stepped back and gestured to the Jedi.  "You're absolutely right.  _I_ am quite finished.  However, the Jedi would like a word with you, I believe." 

"What makes you think I'm interested in talking to any of you?"

Sara was startled.  "They're Jedi.  You have to listen to them."

Nareth looked bored.  "Why?  What are they going to do? Come kill me?  Everyone knows Jedi don't kill in cold blood."

Sara gave him a feral smile.  "That's true but if you're uncooperative, I might just send an assassin of my own after you."

Obi-Wan looked at Sara in surprise.  He didn't expect her to be so...vicious.  Sara ignored his incredulous look.

"I might even go myself."  
  


Nareth chuckled.  "My, aren't we blood-thirsty today.  What's wrong milady, haven't had your morning coffee?"

Sara scowled.  "No.  It's obvious you didn't have enough time to gel your greasy hair down this morning.  It seems as if neither of us has much time on our hands."

Sara's comment didn't seem to bother Nareth in the least.  "Well, have it your way.  Let's hear what your Jedi have to say."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stepped forward.  "We have been summoned here in order to negotiate with the THC organization in regards to governing of Mirith and the occupation of the city of Marwai," said Qui-Gon.

Nareth yawned.  "You sound just like Miss Garnett.  What is it about you decent, compassionate beings that I find so irritating?  I think it's that you just don't seem to recognize the facts, which, in this case, are that I am in control of this city, and nearly the entire planet.  You can 'negotiate' with me until you're blue in the face, but it won't change a thing."

Sara stepped forward, her expression fierce.  "You forget yourself, Nareth.  You are speaking to Jedi Knights.  I advise you to show some respect to my friends, or suffer whatever consequences I deem appropriate."

Nareth held up his hands, smirking. "I surrender.  Your ferocity has me shaking in my boots.  I agree to negotiations.  I'll be expecting you at my palace no later than the fourth hour tomorrow evening.  You will not be harmed during the duration of your stay, you have my word."  Nareth cut the communication off before anyone could protest.  

Obi-Wan glanced at Sara.  "Good job, princess."

Sara gave him a look.  "I know, I know.  I screwed that one up.  Maybe I should have let you do the talking."  

"That is what you called us here for," Qui-Gon pointed out dryly.

Sara leaned against the wall, arms crossed, thinking.

"I wonder why he agreed to it in the first place," Obi-Wan said.

Sara made a face.  "He probably thinks he can kill me.  He'll probably challenge me to some duel.  I can beat him.  He's not the best swordsman."  She knew she sounded arrogant, but it was the truth.  She'd beaten Nareth every single time they'd met in a battle.

"Why bother with negotiations then?  You could just challenge Nareth to a swordfight," Obi-Wan said, teasing.  

Sara was too distracted to pick up on his tone.  "He'd cheat.  Unless he's suicidal, which I doubt."

Qui-Gon spoke up.  "You haven't changed."

Sara looked over at him.  "What's that?"

"You're still the same impulsive, overconfident twelve-year-old," he said with a small smile.

Sara smirked.  "You think so?  Perhaps.  But I wasn't just bragging.  I know for a fact that I'm a better fighter than him.  He had to flee from our last battle.  Don't worry about it."

Qui-Gon studied her a moment and then nodded, satisfied.  "What course of action do you choose?  If we go through with negotiations, we could be walking into a trap."

Sara frowned and thought aloud, "Nareth is a devious little bastard, but I don't think he plans to ambush us.  I've known him a long time and he's never gone back on his word whether it's a threat or not.  But he's got to have some reason for agreeing so quickly..."  she trailed off and fell silent for several seconds.

Finally, she straightened.  "We will go to the Palace.  I expect you all to be ready by the tenth hour tomorrow morning."  The council members nodded, and Sara turned on her heel and headed for the door.  

She paused and beckoned to the Jedi.  "Come with me."

There was limited living space in the canyon, so Sara had volunteered to share her home with the Jedi.  Sara showed the Jedi to their room and got them some food.  Sara sat with them, but did not eat.  She remained silent while they ate, staring at the table like she was trying to burn a hole in it with her mind.

Suddenly, she looked up, her eyes troubled.  "Am I making a mistake?  I realize I'm putting everyone at risk.  I just don't see many other options.  And what's the worst that could happen?  We all die by Nareth's hand now, as opposed to a little while later. Except for you, of course," she added hastily. 

Qui-Gon looked at her neutrally.  Obi-Wan spoke up.  "You made your decision the best way you could.  None of your options were very good ones."

Sara studied the Jedi for a moment.  "You don't approve of my actions.  You don't think I should've threatened Nareth like that."  Obi-Wan didn't reply.  Sara's ability to read him was starting to become bothersome.  It wasn't really that he disapproved of her threatening Nareth, it was just that she had sounded so...fierce when she said it.  Not like the person he knew.   

Sara stood.  "Well if you had been dealing with him as long as I, you would be equally irritated with him.  There's just no getting through to the guy unless you speak in a language he understands —threats and violence."

"If you'll please excuse me, I have some things to take care of." Sara left the building hastily.  

That was the last the Jedi saw of her until nightfall.  She entered the dome she was sharing with the Jedi looking exhausted.  Qui-Gon was in his room and Obi-Wan was meditating in the main room.  He looked up as Sara walked in. 

"You look tired," he said softly.

Sara sighed.  "Yes, I'm exhausted."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows drew together in concern.  "Is it like this every day?"

Sara nodded wearily.  "I never get a minute alone.  Except when I'm sleeping, of course, though that hardly counts."

 Sara sat down beside him.  "I assume you wish to talk?  Unless you were planning to sleep on my couch."

"Well, yes, but you look awfully tired."

"I'll be awake for a while anyway.  I never can fall asleep right away."

Obi-Wan and Sara spent a few hours talking with one another, until Sara fell asleep leaning on Obi-Wan's shoulder.  At this point, Obi-Wan gently laid her down on the couch, not wanting to wake her up.  He looked at her exhausted sleeping form and sighed.  She was going to work herself to death.  He turned out the light and headed for his room.

                                                                                    *****

Whew!  About time, right?  Sorry 'bout that.  Teachers think "end of the school year" means "OH MY GOSH I ONLY ASSIGNED 3462623  PROJECTS!  GOTTA SQUEEZE IN 28 MORE BEFORE SCHOOL'S OUT!"   Lol.  

Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Dreaming chapter 3 

For disclaimers and warnings, see previous chapters.

A/N:  Thank you all reviewers!  

A/N:  Uh, sure, quote me all you like!

**(Revised)**

The next morning, Obi-Wan did not wake up Sara until less than an hour until they had to leave.  She was furious at him.  Even though she yelled at him for nearly five minutes, he knew she appreciated the extra rest.  Well, he _thought_ she did anyway.

Soon enough they were on their way.  Sara, Jai, and the Jedi rode swoops and Mari drove a landspeeder with Sobi. Including short breaks, the trip to Marwai took them about four hours. They hid the swoops and found themselves outside the gate to the city.

Mari glanced at Sara.  "Do you think the passcode is the same?"

Sara shrugged.  "Perhaps.  I find it hard to believe Nareth would be that stupid though."

"Only one way to find out," Jai said cheerfully.  He punched in the passcode, and surprisingly, the gate opened.  The group walked through the gate and glanced around.  The streets were almost completely empty.  

Sara shook her head. "This place was once full of life.  Now it's like a tomb."

"When THC took over, many of the residents here were killed in battle or executed," Mari explained for the Jedi's benefit.  "Those who remain are few, and Nareth's army and employees are hardly enough to bring life back to the city."

Sara closed her eyes briefly.  "Let's go."

She led the group through the streets, heading for the Great Palace, which was visible from where they were.  

The nearly empty city unnerved Obi-Wan.  The streets were clean and the buildings in almost perfect condition, but it still carried the feeling of a city left after some kind of natural disaster.  

It took them another hour to reach the Palace where Nareth awaited them.  The Palace must have been at least thirty stories high.  A waterfall on one side had been turned off, causing moss to cover most of the wall like a disease.  They stood at the front doors, waiting.

Jai shoved his hands in his pockets.  "So now we just knock, or what?"  

Mari shot him a disdainful look and he grinned.

Sara stepped forward and started to knock, but the doors opened before she had the chance.  Nareth leaned against the doorframe.  

He smirked at their surprised expressions.  "You look astonished to see me at my own door.  Please, come in."

They followed Nareth inside.  The Palace was dark.  They could barely see their hands before their faces.   Nareth picked up a lit candle along the way.  Sara rolled her eyes.  He was so dramatic. 

"I love what he's done with the place.  Nice gothic theme," whispered Jai.  Nareth surprised them with a laugh.  No one ventured any conversation after that.  Jai and Mari were perhaps a little intimidated, Sara was preoccupied, and the Jedi and Sobi just didn't seem to feel it was the appropriate moment for a conversation.

Qui-Gon eyed the hallway they walked through warily.  Nareth could just be using the darkness to hide soldiers or some other defense system, but he saw or sensed nothing.  

Nareth led them to a large room with empty seats for their group.  Across from the empty seats were Nareth's council members.  They were mostly aged and frail looking.  Sara supposed they were more for manipulation purposes than anything else.

This room, too, was dark, but not pitch-black as the hallway had been.  Nareth gestured for them to have a seat, and took his place in the center of the room.  

"Now, what is it you want?"

Sara stepped forward with the Jedi at her side.  "You know what we want.  We want you to stop the unlawful occupation of our planet."

Nareth sighed.  "Can you prove that it's your planet?"

Sara looked at him incredulously.  "_What_?!"

"Negotiations" went on like that for nearly an hour and a half.  Sara did let the Jedi do most of the talking, but she had plenty to say herself and wouldn't be silenced.  Actually, the whole process was closer to bickering than anything else, but for diplomacy sake, let's call it negotiating.  

Qui-Gon did the best he could, but as expected, Nareth was not to be swayed.  Several times Nareth's advisors tried to sway him to consider Qui-Gon's proposals, but he simply silenced them with a glare. 

Finally, Nareth shook his head.  "Not surprisingly, your arguments aren't very convincing. You've had your little negotiations, now get out of here and stop bothering me."

Sara sighed.  "No.  We have one more suggestion."  Inwardly, Sara cringed.  This was not how she wanted things to turn out but...

Nareth rolled his eyes.  "Fine.  Name it."

She drew her sword and pointed the tip at Nareth.  "Fight me, Nareth.  Winner takes control of Marwai.  Loser leaves Mirith."  She hoped a duel would appeal to Nareth's ego.

Nareth chuckled.  "My, what an interesting proposition.  Let's make the stakes a little higher.  If you win, you can arrest me and do what you want with me.  If I win, your life is mine to do with whatever I please."

Sara nodded.  "Done."  Obi-Wan shot her a look, obviously wanting her to refuse.  She ignored him.

Nareth smiled.  "Good.  The fight will take place in the arena in the center of the city."

Sara raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?"

"Unless, of course, you have a more suitable facility."

Sara thought for a minute.  "Why not, oh say, anywhere in the hundreds of square feet of plains right outside the city?"

"I don't think so.  It's too easy for others to interfere there.  The arena," he insisted.  "What, do you think I'll place snipers?  Have your Jedi patrol the area."

Reluctantly, Sara nodded.  "Alright."

"I will provide rooms for you and your company.  I will make no attack on any of you until the duel, you have my word."  
  


Sara nodded.  "That would be appreciated.  Thank you."

Nareth gestured to a silver protocol droid in the corner.  "The droid will show you to your rooms."

Sara beckoned and the group followed the droid out of the room.  The door closed behind them.

Nareth ran a hand through his dark hair, feeling pleased with himself.  He would defeat Sara and then she would be his to torture at his leisure.  He laughed to himself as he thought of all the fun he would have.  Sara irritated him like no other could, and now he would have the chance make her suffer a little.  His thoughts were interrupted by one of his council members.

"Pardon me, but aren't you forgetting something?"  

Nareth whirled around, an expression of annoyance on his face.  "What is it?"

"Sara is the superior fighter.  She defeated you in your last battle, sir."

Nareth scowled.  "What do _you_ know?  I've improved since then.  That was years ago."

The councilman shrugged and turned to confer with the man beside him.  Nareth rolled his eyes.

Jai bounced on Sara's bed once and landed in a laying position.  He put his hands behind his head, relaxing.  "Nice of your arch-rival to give us these rooms," he said cheerfully.  Sara couldn't help laughing.  The others had gathered in Sara's room after putting their packs in their own rooms in order to confer with her.

Obi-Wan spoke first.  "Are you sure this is wise, Sara?  You're putting your life at risk."

"Yes, I know.  It's worth the risk.  If I lose, I will probably die.  If I win, my people will have back what is rightfully theirs."

Mari shook her head.  "We did not ask you to make such a sacrifice.  And do you really think Nareth will keep his word anyway?  Do you really think he'll actually take his headquarters out?"

Sara shrugged.  "I have no idea.  If he doesn't honor his word though, he'll be in some trouble with the Maleiro, am I right?"  She asked, looking at Sobi.

Sobi nodded.  "In that case, the other Maleiro tribes will most likely give their support to you."

Jai sat up.  "Well, we've got plenty of free time.  How should we spend our last hours with our beloved leader?"

Sara grabbed a pillow off Obi-Wan's chair and threw it at his head.  Jai caught it, laughing.  "Get off my bed," she commanded in fake annoyance.

Jai glanced around. "There's nowhere else to sit."

"Why don't you and Mari go see if you can send a message back home?  Tell them we're alright before Traj and Drake decide to send the army after us."

Jai made a face.  "Yeah, and get beheaded by Nareth's flunkies.  No thanks."

"Don't be a coward," she said.  "You've got your blaster and Mari has her bowcaster.  And Nareth gave me his word he wouldn't harm any of you."

"And that will be a match for, maybe, 3% of his army?  Besides that, since when is Nareth's word worth anything?"

Sara sighed.  "Qui-Gon, would you mind accompanying them?"

Qui-Gon nodded.  "Of course."

After they left, Sobi excused herself and left for her room.  Sara stood up and sighed.  "She has been awfully withdrawn lately."

"She'll get over it, in time," Obi-Wan said quietly.

Sara glanced at him.  "Don't do anything crazy tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"  Obi-Wan stood as well and nudged Sara so that she turned to face him.

"Don't you dare try to save me or anything like that.  I can take care of myself," she said.

Obi-Wan wanted to laugh at her fierce expression, but smiled instead.  "I admit I'm worried about you.  Don't worry.  If you don't want me to interfere, I won't."

Very much against her better judgment, which she usually obeyed, Sara stretched up —Obi-Wan was a little taller than she was— and kissed his cheek.  Obi-Wan blinked, looking fairly shocked.  Sara just smiled, looking slightly embarrassed.  

Jai chose that inopportune moment to barge in, followed by Mari and Qui-Gon.   "Aw, how cute," he said.  Sara realized her hands were still resting on Obi-Wan's forearms and quickly moved away, as if stung.

"I don't know what you're talking about," 

Jai crossed his arms and gave her a look.  "Yeah, yeah.  I see how it is."

Qui-Gon studied his Padawan carefully.  Obi-Wan's face betrayed no emotion as he met his Master's gaze.  Shaking away his previous suspicions, Qui-Gon turned to speak to Sara.

"We contacted the canyon city and let them know what's going on.  Drake and Traj expressed some concern about your plan."

Sara nodded.  "It's expected.  They don't like it when I take risks like this."

Obi-Wan shot Sara a look.  "Like what?  You mean you do things like this often?"

Jai rolled his eyes.  "Are you kidding me?  Taking risks is like a sport for her.  She acts more like some soldier who's had a lapse of sanity than a princess."

Sara narrowed her eyes.  "I thought we made it clear that I am _not_ a princess.  Mirith is no longer under our rule, and it is no longer a monarchy.  It's a dictatorship under Nareth."

Jai snorted, but said no more.  Jai appeared to be irritated with Sara, but everyone else in the room could tell he was only worried about his friend.

They sat in silence for a moment before Mari pulled out a deck of cards.  "Cards, anyone?"

It was eventually decided that there wasn't much else to do, so they played a few games of cards.  Sobi, lacking opposable thumbs necessary for holding the cards properly, teamed up with Mari.  The pair proved to be formidable in any type of game involving bluffing, since Maleiro have a knack for sensing when someone is lying.

A few hours later, some food was brought to them.  After the servant left, everyone eyed the food dubiously.

"How'd he know we were all in here?"  Jai asked.

Sobi gestured with her head towards a security camera in the corner of the room.  Jai grimaced.  "So our every move is being watched.  How comforting.  He should open this place as a hotel—Hey! What're you doing?!"  Jai was staring at Sara, who was taking a drink of tea.

She blinked.  "What?"

Jai smacked his forehead in exasperation.  "Oh, I don't know.  You're sitting in the home of your greatest enemy, drinking tea that he sent up for you.  You tell me what's wrong with this picture because honestly — I can't see a thing." 

Sara shrugged.  "He gave me his word he would make no attack on me until our duel tomorrow.  I trust him to honor his word," she said, taking another sip.

Everyone turned their eyes back to the food.  Sobi leaned forward and sniffed it cautiously.  The food apparently smelled safe enough, because she started eating some of it.  Slowly, the others began to eat as well.  Soon enough, everyone retreated to their own room for the night.

The next day, they were awoken early and escorted to the open-air arena.  Nareth's promise to let the Jedi patrol the arena had been misleading.  They we're allowed to stand on the sidelines and observe, but Nareth kept them heavily guarded at all times.  If need be, the Jedi could escape, but it wouldn't be easy.  Sara didn't seem bothered by this.

The arena was huge and the whole city had probably come to watch.  The citizens that remained probably took up only ¼ of the seating.  Nareth's entire army took up the rest.

Nareth led Sara to the center of the arena where they stood facing one another.  Sara had not even been given a moment to speak with the others.  They stood there, waiting for a signal of some kind from a referee who stood on the sidelines.  Finally, the ref gave a signal and they both drew their swords.

Nareth launched himself at Sara first, who stepped aside and delivered a glancing blow to his shoulder.  Nareth turned quickly and aimed several blows at her.  She was able to block his strikes one-handed.  They fought like this for almost twenty minutes.  Sara didn't understand why he was able to hold his own.  She should have defeated him easily, but Nareth seemed to have an excess of energy.   She was breathing hard by now, and he was barely fatigued at all.  

Nareth surprised Sara by jamming the hilt of his sword into her stomach.  She was knocked onto her back and her sword was knocked out of her hand.  She was unable to move for a moment, stunned.  Nareth walked leisurely over to her and kicked her hard.  Sara couldn't help crying out a little.  She winced and started to crawl to her knees.

Nareth smirked.  "Not today, my dear," he said, and drove his sword into her right leg.  Sara cried out and collapsed down again, digging her fingers into the dirt.  Obi-Wan started forward, wanting to help her, but Qui-Gon put a hand on his shoulder.  

"She isn't finished yet."  Obi-Wan could see his Master was worried as well.    

Nareth tried to kick Sara again as she tried to get back up, but missed.  She struggled to get to her feet.  Her right leg was bleeding considerably and she was breathing hard.  She backed away from Nareth, trying to get to her sword.  Nareth saw what she was doing and rushed at her.  Sara tried to leap away, but her injured leg slowed her down considerably.  Nareth dealt her a glancing blow to her side.  Sara fell once more, landing on her injured side.  Pain threatened to rob her of consciousness.  She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering how Nareth had gotten so strong.

_"He's gotta be taking spice or something...."_

She turned and saw her sword lying on the ground a few inches from her.  She reached for it, but Nareth stepped around her and kicked it away.  

"I don't think so, Sara," he said.  He circled her like a predator, smiling.  Obi-Wan started forward again, but Qui-Gon stopped him.  

"He's not going to kill her now.  Remember their deal.  Rushing in now would probably do her more harm than good."

Obi-Wan nodded, but the slightest flicker of Sara's life energy, and not even Qui-Gon would be able to stop him from helping her.

Sara stared at Nareth's boots helplessly.  Before long, Nareth would probably start driving his blade into her shoulder or back, demanding that she declare him the victor.  Unless she could get her hands on her sword, she was finished.

Sara looked over in the direction of her sword.  It lay on the ground several feet from her.  There was no way she could reach it.  Unless....she used the Force.

Sara had not used the Force for a few years.  When at first she left, she had been careful to keep her connection to the Force strong.  But lately (lately being for the past four years or so) she hadn't accessed the Force directly.  Now she closed her eyes and reached out for it.

Nothing.

Nareth was still circling her, considering what he should do with her.  Finally, he stopped and looked down at Sara.  

"I think I'll just kill you now.  Say farewell, Sara," Nareth said with mock sadness as he raised his sword.

Sara desperately reached out for the Force once more, knowing that failure would cost her her life. 

                                                       *******

What can I say?  It was getting too long.  Since it was a long chapter I figured you wouldn't mind a cliffhanger so much   ^_^;;  I'll post as soon as I can!  I'll be on vacation the first part of June so don't be expecting updates and don't try to contact me at that time please.   


	4. Chapter 4

Dreaming, chapter 4 

Warning: Violence....ouch...

For additional disclaimers and warnings, see previous chapters

A/N:  I literally had to BEG for reviews this time.  I spend hours writing this and you can't take one little minute to review?  *Sigh* It is reviews that keep me going, you know.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed.  You have no idea how happy reviews make me. 

Sara threw out a hand in the direction of her sword, concentrating as hard as she could.  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan realized what she was doing and she could feel them reaching out to help her.  She felt the Force move through her for the first time in a long while.  Her sword jumped easily into her hand, as if pulled by invisible strings.

Sara swung out with her sword as Nareth brought his down.  She struck his hand rather than his sword and severed several fingers.  Nareth cried out in anger and leaped away from her, dropping his sword.

"You've mutilated me!"  

Sara smirked, struggling to her feet.  "That's right.  I believe it's time for you to run away now.  Unless you want to face my sword and my Force-wielding powers without three of your fingers.  You can't even hold your sword in that condition, can you?"  She appeared confident, but inwardly she was praying he'd fall for her bluff.  She was in no condition to fight much less use the Force anymore. 

In a fury, Nareth rushed from the arena, medics swarming around him.  The crowd was completely silent.  Obi-Wan ran forward and put an arm around Sara, supporting her.  

"Can you walk?"

"I can limp if you help me."

Leaning heavily on Obi-Wan, Sara made it back on the sidelines with the others.  

Sobi started to walk towards the entrance.  "We should leave while we can.  Contact Nareth later and negotiate terms of his surrender."

Sara nodded.  "Good idea."

It was decided that it would be best if Sara rode in the speeder with Mari and Sobi trailed behind them.  Before long, they were on their way again, leaving Marwai behind them.  Sara grimaced, not from the pain, but from the bad feeling that had been growing in the back of her mind since the battle.  She had a feeling Nareth had no intention of playing by the rules.  

As soon as they got back to the canyon city, they found the head medic, Reiah Lan, waiting for them with a crew of doctors.  She did not look pleased.  

"Get onto the stretcher, Miss Garnett."  It was not a suggestion.  

Sara eased away from Obi-Wan, who was supporting her, and tested her strength.  She drew in a deep breath and limped in the direction of the medical ward, right past Reiah.

Reiah looked furious.  "Really Miss Garnett.  You'll injure yourself further, walking around like that."

Sara turned slightly and glanced at Reiah with one brilliant green eye.  "I don't take orders from you, Reiah," she said.  "My injuries are not that serious."  Wincing and holding the wound in her side, she continued on her way.  

Reiah stared after her for a moment, obviously angry.  She turned back to the Jedi and the other two council members.  "Your friend here is a stubborn fool.  She'll kill herself like that one day."  With that, she and her medics followed after Sara.  Though he wouldn't say so, Obi-Wan was inclined to agree with Reiah.

Jai shrugged and grinned.  "Would you have her any other way?  We like having an idiot for a leader."

Mari shook her head at him in disgust and walked off in the direction of the communications building.  

"Where are you going?"  Jai asked.

"I'm going to go report in.  Why don't you show the Jedi to the medical ward?"

"Yeah, fine, ok," Jai said, and did as she asked.  The medical building was one of the largest domes in the city.  Sara was given a room to herself, which she would have declined if there were more patients.  She sat up in bed, bandaging her wounds herself.  Reiah stood nearby, looking perturbed.  

"Maybe you Jedi can knock some sense into this woman.  I'm leaving.  I have more cooperative patients to care for."  Reiah left the room.

Sara grinned at her friends.  "Oh, look, a parade.  Jai, has Sobi returned yet?"

Jai shrugged.  "She's probably still on her way here."

"Any word from Marwai?"

Jai held out his hands in a helpless gesture.  "I just got here!  Mari went to check in.  I'm sure she'll have some news for you."

Sara sighed.  "Fine.  Please go and get her for me."  Jai nodded and left.

"How're you feeling?"  Obi-Wan asked.

Sara finished bandaging her leg and lay back.  "Exhausted."

 "Why not get some rest?"  Qui-Gon suggested.

She sat up.  "Are you kidding me?  Do you have any idea how much I have to do?  I have to start sending messages to Nareth's council to convince them to uphold their end of the bargain.  I have to meet with several people and make sure Sobi gets back safely.  I have to—"

 Obi-Wan interrupted her by gently pushing her back down.  "We'll take care of it.  Stay here and get some sleep."

Sara struggled against him.  "No way.  It's my job.  Really, I'm ok."

Obi-Wan shook his head. He spoke very slowly, as if speaking to a complete idiot.  "You're _injured _you need to _rest _so you'll get _better_.  Understand?"

Sara rolled her eyes.  "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," she replied and tried to get up again to no avail.

Qui-Gon sighed and nodded to Obi-Wan who nodded back.  He sat down on the bed behind Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist, careful not to touch her wound.  Sara still tried to get away, but couldn't.  She finally sighed and stopped struggling.

"Alright, fine.  If you're sure you don't mind, I'll stay here and sleep."

"Good," said Qui-Gon.  "Obi-Wan, make sure she stays here.  No doubt she'll sneak out if we both leave."

Sara sighed in aggravation and Obi-Wan laughed.  "Yes, Master.  I'll be sure to see that she gets some rest."

Qui-Gon left and Sara glanced at Obi-Wan from the corner of her eye.  "I could probably have you arrested for this, you know."

Obi-Wan grinned at her.  "I'm sorry milady, I have to see to your well-being."

Sara made a face.  "Please _don't_ call me that."  She rested her head against his shoulder.

"Tired?"

She sighed.  "Yes.  You seemed awfully worried about me back in Marwai."

"I was."

"You don't have to worry.  You still owe me a duel, Obi-Wan.  And a kiss.  I'm not dying until I'm paid in full."

Sara had been joking, so she didn't really expect Obi-Wan to kiss her cheek.  She was a little surprised when he did.  

"I'll pay you the duel when you're feeling better," he said, sounding amused at her reaction.

"Alright, fair enough," Sara said, closing her eyes.  After a few minutes, she fell asleep.  

Sara awoke a few hours later and saw that night had fallen.  She also noticed, a bit disappointed, that Obi-Wan had left.  She had enjoyed sitting with him.  Actually, enjoyed being held by him was probably more accurate.  Suddenly, she caught herself.  What was she thinking?  There was no possible way she and Obi-Wan could...  

She shook her head, irritated at herself.  She stood and half walked, half limped over to the window and closed it.  It was getting cold, and in a few days there would probably be snow on the ground.  Her leg was nearly healed, as was the cut in her side.  Ah, the wonders of modern medicine.

The next day Sara contacted Nareth's Palace, but one of his advisors answered.  

"Nareth will not speak with you."

"You're preparing to leave, I trust?"

The advisor blinked.  "The fight was a draw."

Sara leaned forward, glaring daggers at the elderly man.  "_Excuse me_?"

"No winner was declared and both fighters fled the arena due to injuries.  It is considered a draw."

"Nareth ran first!"

"Nevertheless, the fight is a draw.  Both fighters exited the ring before a winner was declared."  The advisor cut the communication.

Sara cursed under her breath.  "All that for nothing.  That was foolish of me.  I should have demanded that they declare me the winner before I left."

"It probably wouldn't have made much difference."  Qui-Gon pointed out.

She turned to the Jedi.  "I guess...I guess you should probably leave.  There's obviously nothing more you can do here.  You can use the communicator to call your transport."  She turned on her heel and left the building.

Sara walked without really knowing where she was going.  She finally found her way to the outskirts of the canyon city.   Spotting a grassy hill nearby, she walked over to it and climbed to the top.  She could just see the city of Marwai miles away.  She shivered.  It was freezing outside.  She looked up at the cloudy sky overhead.  She wasn't really surprised to see tiny snowflakes begin to fall.  By tomorrow, the ground would be covered in snow.

She sat down and sighed.  Out here she could think about all the things that were bothering her without interruption.  The first thing that came to mind was Obi-Wan.  He was perhaps her dearest friend, even though they hadn't spoken in years.  She was fighting a losing battle with her emotions to keep him a friend, and nothing more.  She didn't want him to leave.  She wanted him to stay with her more than anything, but she knew that wasn't possible.  

She straightened and turned at the sound of approaching footsteps.  Obi-Wan had followed her.  He sat down next to her.  "Something's bothering you."  It was not a question.  

"Oh, I just don't want you to go, that's all.  It's nothing," she said dismissively.  She frowned, vaguely annoyed that she hadn't just said the situation with Nareth was what was bothering her.

"We can still talk, remember?"

"Yes.  It's not the same though."  She sighed.  "What's really bothering me is what to do about Nareth."

She stood abruptly.  "I have work to do.  I can't be up here, wasting time.  Besides, it's snowing."

"Talking with me is wasting time?"  Obi-Wan asked with a straight face.  He was teasing, but Sara didn't know that.

Sara reddened.  "No, of course not.  I didn't mean—"

He laughed.  "I know what you meant."

"Then I'll be going."  Sara turned on her heel and walked down the hill.  Well, tried to.  She slipped halfway down on the newly fallen snow and landed on one knee.  She slid the rest of the way down the hill.  Obi-Wan laughed at her.  

"Very funny," she grumbled.  "Laugh it up."

Obi-Wan walked down to help her up, but by the time he got there, she was already on her feet and heading back to the city.  He followed her.

Sara spent the rest of the day discussing the situation with her council.  Nothing could really be done unless Nareth decided to attack them.  Sara certainly wasn't stupid enough to order a direct attack on Marwai.

When Sara finally went to bed, she found Obi-Wan meditating on her couch again.  Not wanted to disturb him, she walked quietly past and into her room.  She wouldn't get much sleep that night though.  

Despite heightened security measures, a man dressed all in black managed to sneak into the city.  His face was hidden behind a mask.  He crept quietly to Sara's home and attached an explosive device to it.  He set the device to give him enough time to escape before the explosion awakened everyone.  Then he quietly slipped away into the darkness.

Both Jedi sensed the danger before the explosion went off, but too late to escape the building.  The device went off, destroying the back part of the dome.  Luckily, the domes were made out of hard rock and the explosive didn't demolish too much. The area where Sara had been sleeping was completely destroyed though.  Several guards including Sobi were at the house in a moment.  They started searching through the rubble for any sign of Sara.  Obi-Wan turned away and reached out with his senses.  Sara was not dead. He could still feel her presence.  

Relieved, he saw her walk outside a moment later.  "Is everyone all right?"  She asked.

Obi-Wan nodded.  "No one was hurt.  Are you all right?  Where were you?"

"Lucky for me, I went to get some water when it happened."

Qui-Gon approached.  "It looks like someone's after your life."

"Yeah, I'd say so."  

Sobi walked over to Sara.  "I've got people tracking whoever it was that did it.  The idiot left footprints in the snow."

Sara nodded.  "Good work."

The hole left by the explosion was sealed temporarily so Sara and the Jedi could stay in the dome without freezing to death.  There was no spare housing available for them.  Sara ended up sleeping on the couch after refusing to take Obi-Wan's bed several times.  

The next day Sara received the news that she had hoped not to hear, but knew was inevitable. 

Nareth was preparing his army.  In a day or so, he would be free to march to the canyon city and wipe them out.  And on top of that, the Jedi Knights would be leaving her within the next day or so.  

Sara honestly couldn't see how she was going to get out of this one.

                                                            *********

Well that's it for this chapter.  Ahem, **PLEASE REVIEW**.   Hehe.  Thanks, I really appreciate it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dreaming, chapter 5.  La.**

For warnings and disclaimers, see previous chapters

A/N:  Sorry for the slow update.  I've been away on vacation.

A/N:  My cockatiel flew away  *tears*  I hope we find him.  **(Update: we never found him)**

A/N: I really have to bully myself into writing these stupid love scenes.  You'd better appreciate them and REVIEW!  Please?

**(Revisions)**

Obi-Wan walked into the communications building to find Sara studying a map of Marwai and the surrounding area.  She looked up.

"I thought you were leaving today."

"We've been given a new mission here," Obi-Wan said, cringing inwardly.  Sara was not going to be pleased.

Sra looked confused.  "What?"

"To protect you from terrorist threats."

Sara stood up, looking furious.  "I did not request your help.  Who was it?"

Obi-Wan sighed.  "Your entire council seems to think that you need protection.  No doubt the attack on your home inspired this.  Sara, I have to agree with them.  Who knows what Nareth will send after you next?"

Sara shook her head. "I can take care of myself! I don't need to be watched over by you and Qui-Gon.  I'm eighteen years old!  I don't need protection from other people anymore."

Obi-Wan shrugged.  "I don't think there's much you can do about it, unless you want to dissolve your council.   Think of it this way — now I don't have to leave."

 Sara sighed exasperatedly.  "Of course I'm glad you're staying longer.  I value your counsel.  I'm just very unhappy about being assigned a body guard without my knowing."

Obi-Wan was about to reply, but Traj burst into the room.  "Nareth has started moving."

Sara's eyes widened.  "Already?  He's on his way to our city?"

Traj shook his head.  "He's heading for the Heiwa village on the other side of Mt. Vero."

Sara clenched her hands into fists.  "Are you absolutely sure?"  Traj nodded.

"Are we ready to go?"

Obi-Wan glanced at Sara.  "Go where?"

"We'll be ready in two hours."

Sara nodded.  "Get them ready."

Traj agreed and left the building.  Sara started to follow when Obi-Wan grabbed her shoulders from behind.

"Hold on a minute.  What's going on?"

Sara turned to face him. "Nareth isn't attacking us yet.  He's going to go to the Heiwa village —to do who knows what— first," she explained.  "I don't know what he's planning.  He could be trying to recruit them, though I have no idea why.  He might just kill them to make us angry — to him this would seem part of a fitting revenge for me taking off his fingers."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Only part of a revenge?"

Sara nodded.  "He won't be satisfied until he's killed me.  I humiliated him.  He hates that."

"So you're going to try and beat him there?"  

"And evacuate the city, yes," Sara replied.

"Can't you just contact them?" He asked.

Sara shook her head.  "No, they use very old technology.  In the canyon city, weapons, communication devices, tools, food — anything from off world— is hard to get.  In Heiwa it's almost impossible because their city is so remote."

She started to leave.  "I have many preparations to make.  We're leaving with our entire army in two hours.  I'd like you and Qui-Gon to stay here and watch over the city for me."

Obi-Wan shook his head.  "I'm afraid not, milady.  We've been assigned to protect you."

Sara frowned.  "I didn't really think that would work anyway.  I just don't want you to endanger yourselves for me.  And don't call me 'milady.'  I am not your lady."

Obi-Wan followed Sara out, chuckling. 

They spent the next couple of hours preparing to leave for Vero Mountain.  Sara barely managed to scramble an army of 200.  Nareth would have at least 1000.  The odds were not something any of them liked to think about.  Except for Jai, who never failed to remind everyone that they were all committing suicide. 

They had very few swoops, and those were given to the people Sara chose as scouts.  She chose to leave Sobi and a few guards behind to watch over the city.  Sara also had Sobi send someone to contact a few of the Maleiro tribes, asking for help.  It was expected that only Sobi's tribe, the Nishi tribe, would respond.  Help was not expected from them for a while.   

All in all, the future looked grim for the exiles.  And Sara was probably in the most danger, even with Jedi protection.  As soon as possible, the army of exiles was assembled and ready to go.  It was the most rag-tag looking army Obi-Wan had ever seen.  Their armor was scattered and mismatched and everyone carried different weapons.  A few people had managed to find blasters, but some carried swords or vibroblades.  

Sara and a few others had chosen to ride on horseback.  Only the people who had trained to fight on horseback chose to do so.   So Sara was a little surprised when both Jedi requested a horse.

"Well milady, it'll be hard to protect you if you're on horseback and we're not," Obi-Wan said, grinning at her.  

Sara scowled. "You did that on purpose.  You know very well I don't like being called that.  I bet neither of you even know how to ride anyway."

"I'm sure we can handle it," Qui-Gon said.

Sara shrugged.  "If you insist.  I only have one more spare horse.  Obi-Wan can ride double with me."  She offered Obi-Wan her hand, and he took it and swung up behind her.

She turned slightly.  "Be prepared to jump off when we reach them.  Riding double during battle is too dangerous, and you could throw my horse off-balance."  Obi-Wan nodded agreement.  It kind of defeated the purpose of riding with her in the first place, but he decided to just drop it.

Jai saw to getting Qui-Gon a horse, and after that, they were ready to go.  Sara raised her sword as a signal, and they started walking.  Sara found it a little strange that although they were only at a walking pace, Obi-Wan saw it fit to hold onto her.  She brushed the thought away.  He probably didn't expect her to warn him if she decided to go faster.  This way, she wouldn't have to.

They marched for the entire day.  Jai approached her at one point to inform her that their chances of getting to Heiwa village before Nareth were good, since they were closer in the first place.  

At first, the snow had been rather thin and easy to walk through.  As they moved further east, the snow got much thicker.  It seemed that the storm had quickly passed over the canyon city and slowed east of it.  The snow had to be at least a foot or two deep.  The only people who had no trouble with it were the few people on swoops.  Sara had no idea where they could possibly stop for the night, or even if they would be stopping.  

Finally, as it was getting too dark to see, she called Jai over to her and asked him if Nareth had stopped for the night.  Jai consulted a small, computerized map he'd built into his swoop.  Jai himself had planted tracking devices on several of Nareth's speeders some time ago.

"Yes," he answered.  "He stopped about twenty minutes ago.  He's about an hour's worth of distance behind us.  

Sara breathed a sigh of relief.  "Good.  Let's stop for the night then."

Jai and Mari called a halt and the company began setting up a suitable place to sleep beneath the cover of a small wooded area.  Drake and a few other Drakons helped to clear away the snow so that the exiles could have a place to sleep.  It took almost two hours to set up camp.  There were few tents, and Sara ended up giving hers away.  She had made sure there was one for the Jedi, but they too, refused it.  They ended up making a fire and taking all the thermal blankets out of Sara's horse's saddlebag (of which there were three).  

They sat up talking for a while.  Qui-Gon was the first to fall asleep.  Obi-Wan succumbed to sleepiness next.  Sara found herself unable to sleep.  Finally, she got up, and taking her blanket with her, went just outside the trees where she could see the stars.  She dug the snow away and lay on her back, thinking.  

Her thoughts drifted to the dreams she had been having lately.  Very strange dreams.  Dreams mostly involving herself and Obi-Wan...kissing, cuddling, or other unlikely things.  She had considered speaking to him about them, but decided it would cause needless trouble.   Besides, it wasn't as if she had any control over what she dreamed about, and it wasn't like they had any significance anyway.

_"It is the future you see."_

A memory of her childhood at the Temple surfaced.  A meeting with Yoda about dreams she had been having.  Over and over she would dream of the same event.  Every single night without failure.  She had asked Master Yoda about it, and that was the answer she had been given.

She almost laughed.  _"Not this time, I'm afraid," _she thought.  Pushing her thoughts away, she stared up at the stars until she fell asleep.  

Obi-Wan woke with a start.  "_That_ _dream again..."  _

He shook his head, trying to clear it.  He looked over at Sara and found her to be gone.  He glanced around worriedly and spotted her footprints in the snow.  Taking his blanket, he followed them and found Sara asleep on the ground with her thermal blanket.  Despite the warm blanket, she was shivering pretty badly.  Obi-Wan didn't really want to wake her, and if he gave her his blanket he'd freeze.  Finally he dug out a little more snow and lay down beside Sara, sharing his blanket with her.  She instinctively snuggled as close to him as she could, taking advantage of the warmth.  

_"This is not a good situation,"_ Obi-Wan thought, reluctantly putting his arms around Sara — he had nowhere else to put them.  Sara opened her eyes.  

"W-what...?"  It was clear that she was not quite awake.  

"Shhh...you're dreaming.  Go back to sleep," Obi-Wan coaxed.   She looked at him almost suspiciously, but in her half-asleep state, couldn't seem to think straight.  Finally, she closed her eyes again and fell back asleep.  

Obi-Wan had not really meant to fall back asleep.  Imagine if someone found them before they both woke up...Qui-Gon would not be pleased.  Or he might be amused.  Or both.  Unfortunately, sleep overtook Obi-Wan fairly quickly.

When he woke up, it was still dark.  He had actually woken up in the middle of another dream.  He wasn't even sure if he was awake or still asleep.  He saw Sara and decided he must be dreaming still.  They were so close their foreheads were touching.  Before he even realized what was going on, he realized that he was kissing her.  Sara woke up almost immediately.  Obi-Wan woke up completely, and pulled away immediately.  He got up and walked away as quickly as he could, surprised at what he just done.  Sara sat up and stared after him.  

"Obi-Wan...."

She stood up and shook the light layer of snow off her blanket.  She was thoroughly confused now and maybe a little hurt.  Why had he left so quickly?  She pushed away her thoughts.  It was probably time to wake everyone up and get going again.

First she woke up Jai and asked him to have a look at his tracking device.  Nareth's army wasn't moving yet.  They woke up the rest of the company and started packing up camp.  They were ready to keep going within the hour.

They'd been walking about half an hour and had entered another dense forest when Sara sent out a few of her scouts on a whim to check out Nareth's army.  One of them returned a little later on.

"Ma'am, the speeders with tracking devices are piloted by droids.  They appear to serve no purpose.  The only possibility is that they are decoys."

Sara stared.  "You're kidding."

The scout swallowed and shook his head.  "No Ma'am."

"They were trying to lead us away from the city...they're going to attack the city..."  Sara stated, her eyes wide.  

She turned back to the scout.  "Send the Drakons —all of them— back to the city.  Have one come back to inform us of the situation."

The scout nodded and hurried to follow his orders. As soon as he was gone, Sara rested her forehead in her palm.  

"I really screwed up this time."

Obi-Wan put a hand on her shoulder.  "You don't know that for sure."

Sara looked back at him between two of her fingers.  "I'd say it's pretty obvious."  Several horses pawed at the ground nervously as the Drakons took off back to the city.  

Everyone dismounted their swoops or horses and prepared themselves for the long wait for word from the city.

Sara and her Jedi companions saw the flash of light before the attack.  Within the blink of an eye, Nareth's army was upon them.  

The speeders had been decoys, although not to lure the Exiles from the canyon city, but to trick Sara into sending away her strongest allies—the Drakons.

They didn't have a prayer.

                                                                         ******

Another cliffhanger...sorry about that.  The more reviews I get, the faster I update.  Please R&R!    


	6. Chapter 6

Dreaming, chapter 6 

For warnings and disclaimers, see previous chapters

A/N:  Thanks everyone for your kind words!  They mean so much to me!  I feel so loved!

A/N:  Special thanks to my beta reader, Anne!  Everyone clap for Anne!

A/N: Sara's worries about the future and dread of becoming nothing more than a redundant soldier are largely inspired by the anime Gundam Wing, which I do not own.  

A/N: Just a few chapters left!  This fic is going to be shorter than its predecessor (Memory) 

(Revised)

Immediately, the horsemen leapt off and sent their mounts away.  Sara had instructed them to do so in case of such a closed-in battle because the animals didn't stand a chance.  Neither, in fact, did the exiles for that matter.  

The exiles were skilled fighters, especially against Nareth's poorly trained troops, and it helped that neither side was using long-range weapons such as blasters.  Sara took in the area as she fought.  It appeared that Nareth had only sent a very small portion of his army.  Either he didn't have much faith in the exile's skills, or he was only testing their strength.  She shouted the same to Obi-Wan, who was at her side.

Suddenly several of the soldiers near Sara drew blasters and pointed them straight at her.  The fighting ceased immediately.  Sara glanced around quickly.  The soldiers had all drawn blasters against the exiles, and since they were armed mostly with swords and daggers, there was nothing they could do. 

It didn't look like anyone from their side was dead, though a few were wounded.  She looked for Obi-Wan.  They had gotten separated and he was a few meters away from her.  Qui-Gon was about the same distance.

"Sara Garnett, drop your weapon and step away from your comrades."

Sara dropped her sword and was about to comply.  Both Jedi tensed, ready to attack, but they never got the chance. A Maleiro's cry split the frosty air.  The white giants were upon Nareth's army faster than the blink of an eye.  Seven of Nareth's soldiers fell to their fangs before the commanding officer called an immediate retreat.  The Jedi, taking advantage of the distraction, cut down the blasters that were pointed at Sara.  Within minutes the area was clear. 

Sara picked up her sword and slipped it into its sheath.  She approached the Maleiro leader and bowed.   "We might just owe you our lives.  You have my gratitude."

"We are here at your request.  We're fighters from the Nishi tribe.  My name is Hokori."

"I am Sara Garnett.  You're welcome to stay with our camp."

"Thank you, but we will make our own arrangements."

Sara bowed again.  "Very well then.  Thank you for your help.  If you'll excuse me, I need to see to my people."

After they moved a ways from the battlefield, Sara spent the next several hours making sure everyone's injuries were seen to and sending people to keep a look out for the Drakons.

Eventually, Qui-Gon interrupted her work.  "You're bleeding."  He looked pointedly at her upper arm where the blood was soaking her tunic.  

Sara put a gloved hand to her wound.  "It's nothing.  I'll take care of it in a few minutes."

Obi-Wan came up behind her, and putting his hands on her shoulders, gently forced her to sit down.  He carefully pushed her sleeve out of the way and started cleaning the cut.

"It doesn't even hurt," Sara protested irritably.

They both ignored her.  

Sara sighed in exasperation and relaxed a little.  Obi-Wan finished bandaging her arm and she stood.  "Thank you, Obi-Wan."  She started to walk away, but he stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"I still have work to do, and we need to plan our next move," she said, but Obi-Wan was already shaking his head.

"No.  _You_ are going to go get some rest.  You can't do anything until the Drakons return with news anyway."

Sara gave him a slightly irritated look.  "I'm sure that when Jai asked you to stay and protect me from threats, he meant immediate ones such as terrorism.  Not fatigue."

"Then he should have made that more clear," he replied, trying not to smile.

Sara threw her hands up in defeat.  "There's no point in arguing with you.  Fine.  I'll go rest.  But I want to know the second the Drakons return."

Obi-Wan nodded.  "Alright."

Sara managed to get a few hours of sleep before the Drakons returned with news that the canyon was safe from any threat.  They had taken the liberty of sending one of their own out to find the location of Nareth's army.  It was another half an hour before she returned and reported that the army was moving steadily in the direction of the Heiwa village.  However, the exiles had enough of a lead so that they would be able to head him off.

After traveling for about another day or so, they were at the point where they would be able to engage Nareth's army soon.  They were stopped for the night when Sara approached Obi-Wan and asked him to duel.  He agreed and she handed him a sword, equal in size and weight to her own.  They moved a little away from the camp, but people came to watch them anyway.

Sara assumed a fighting stance.  "Obi-Wan...have you been having dreams?"

Surprised, he nodded.  "You?"

"Yes."

 Sara smirked and lunged at him.  As they fought, Obi-Wan considered what was going on.  Sara had been having the dreams too.  She was probably wondering why he had practically ran away from her that morning a couple days ago.  The truth was, he hadn't realized he was awake.  So did that mean the fact that he'd kissed her didn't mean anything?  Their weapons locked.  Obi-Wan found himself staring into Sara's bright green eyes.  

Then he realized that she was planning to die. 

_"You still owe me a duel, Obi-Wan.  And a kiss.  I'm not dying until I'm paid in full."_

Her words echoed in his mind.  Why else would she have asked him for a duel?  Something told him that it was not in case she should die in battle tomorrow, but rather because she knew that she would.  If she had thought there was any chance of her surviving, she would have postponed it until later.

Sara saw the realization in his face and smiled.  She surprised him by breaking away from the lock between their weapons and knocking his out of his hand.  She caught the sword with her free hand.

Obi-Wan raised his hands in defeat.  "You took me by surprise."

She grinned.  "That's the idea."

Seeing that the fighting was over, the spectators went back to whatever they had been doing.

Sara held one blade in each hand.  They simply stared at one another for a moment before she turned abruptly.  "I have work to do."

Obi-Wan half-considered asking her to wait so that they could talk, but decided against it.  He looked up at the grey skies overhead.  It was starting to snow again.

Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan took off after Sara.  He quickly caught up with her and stopped her.  

"Sara..."

She raised an eyebrow.  "Hm?"

"Is something wrong?"

Sara smiled.  "Not really, no.  Why do you ask?"

"It's just...Sara, why did you ask me for a duel today?"

She laughed.  "Because I probably won't be here tomorrow!"  

Before Obi-Wan could ask her whether she was serious or just being cynical, she stopped laughing abruptly and looked him in the eye.  

"Obi-Wan, I think you've already guessed that there's almost no chance I'll make it out alive tomorrow.  I didn't really want you to figure that out, but I kinda had a feeling you would."

"Isn't that what we're here for?  To keep you alive?"  Obi-Wan asked, getting a little annoyed.

"You can't possibly understand, Obi-Wan.  Being forced to Mirith has changed me a lot."

"Being _forced?!"_  Obi-Wan could hardly believe what he was hearing.  "You chose to leave!"

"I think we've been through this already.  The dreams and visions, remember?"  

Before he could reply, she continued. "Listen to me, Obi-Wan.  I am going to fight Nareth tomorrow, and you must not interfere.  I've been having dreams other than the ones that involve...well, you.  I have had visions of my own death."

Obi-Wan interrupted her. "_What are you talking about_?"

"Think about it for a minute.  What is going to happen to me after this is all over?  Obi-Wan, I never intended to have this position.  I tried to refuse it when they appointed it to me, but they just would not take no for an answer.  Now I'm almost glad I did, because I'm no longer the ignorant little Jedi deserter who showed up one day.  I have a place here. But what happens after the battle is over?  What happens to me?  I have no business living on Mirith.  The only thing I can do is fight.  I'm a terrible leader, and you've seen what happens when I'm in charge of an army.  I'm too young and inexperienced. I almost led these people to their deaths!"

"I don't wanna become a redundant soldier Obi-Wan. That's why I have chosen to simply accept my impending death rather than fight the inevitable."

"That's your solution?  Just because you're uncertain about the future doesn't mean you have to die."  He looked a little exasperated and a little angry.

"It's not a solution.  It is simply what happens."

"You don't have to die," he said stubbornly.

Sara sighed.  "Listen to me—"

"No, _you_ listen.  You've been having dreams of your death and dreams of being with me, right?"

She nodded.

"Well it sounds to me like the Force is showing you two of your possible futures.  You actions will decide if one of the two, or a different one comes to be."

She looked at him speculatively, as if trying to decide whether he meant what he said.  "Well then you'll just have to wait and see where my actions take me," she said, turning to walk away.

Obi-Wan watched her walk away, promising himself silently that he would do whatever it took to keep her alive.

                                                                      *********

Well that's it for this chapter!  R&R please!  A couple words of feedback go a long way!


	7. Chapter 7

Dreaming, chapter 7 

For warnings and disclaimers, see previous chapters

A/N:  I was inspired by the new computer virus that infected our computer, among many others.

A/N:  The epilogue to Memory has been updated.  I changed it since I got more than one or two complaints that Fen and Anna never had children.  And it wasn't that big of a deal.

A/N:  In SW, I believe "hacking" as in hacking into a computer, is referred to as "slicing" so that's just some FYI, so you won't read it in the fic and be like "what the hell, slicing?  Like slicing a fruit?"

I am so sorry I took so long to update.  It's just that these damn romance scenes (no matter how little of it) really trip me up.

(Revised)

Sara made her way to her temporary quarters (a tent), thinking about what had just happened.  What Obi-Wan said implied that he thought her future could turn out to be with him.  Sara shook her head.  The dreams she had been having about Obi-Wan couldn't have meant anything.  Not like the premonitions she'd had as a child.  And besides, even when she was at the Jedi Temple, her premonitions turned out to be wrong as much as they turned out to be right.

_"Always in motion is the future."  _Another quote from Yoda.__

Sara frowned.  Yoda made a good point.  But even Yoda would have to agree that any future of her with Obi-Wan was close to impossible.  If they were both Jedi, things might be a little different, but wishing for the impossible would get her nowhere fast.

And besides, she was done for, right?  Nareth would undoubtedly focus on killing her if they met in the next battle.  Now that he was so much stronger, there was no way she'd survive a second encounter.  

Jai and Mari approached, turning Sara's attention away from her thoughts.    "Is something wrong?"

Jai's mouth twitched into a smile.  "That depends on how you look at it."  He handed her a portable communication device.   Traj's face was on the screen, his expression troubled.  

"We've picked up some interesting information," he said.

"Oh really?  From what source?"

"She claims to be a deserter from Nareth's army.  In any case, we've already confirmed her story."

"Which is...?"

"Nareth is using cybernetically enhanced soldiers."

Sara bit her lower lip, thinking.  Cybernetically enhanced soldiers were not widely used, despite their efficiency — amazing reaction time, perfect accuracy, and all the intelligence a droid would not possess.  They would cost an enormous sum of money, especially if Nareth had fitted his whole army.  Even a wealthy company like THC could go broke trying to build or hire such an army.  Well, no one said Nareth was a genius when it came to business affairs.

"Did he fit his own army, or did he hire a new one?"

"We can't be sure, but it appears that he fitted his existing army," he replied.  "We've been monitoring incoming and outgoing ship traffic and we haven't seen anything to indicate he was receiving anything other than supplies.  

"The soldiers we just had a skirmish with weren't enhanced," she stated.

Traj shrugged.   "He might have been hoping to surprise you."

Sara smiled grimly.  "I'm sure he was.  Jai said the nature of this news depends on how you look at it.  So tell me, is there anything good about this?"

"The cybernetic parts are probably linked to a central system of some kind.  If we can sabotage it, all of his cybernetic troops become useless.  Just destroying it won't do it.  We need a special computer virus to make the parts malfunction."

"Can we come up with such a virus?"  Sara asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jai stepped in. "Yes.  I knew a guy who developed computer viruses.  As a hobby, I mean.  He was kind of strange, actually.  He died about a year ago, but his files and the viruses he developed are still there.  Traj sent copies of them to me via one of our communicators and I took the liberty of sorting through them.  I found just the right one."

"Alright, but what good does that do us?  Unless your slicing skills have improved since the last time, I don't think there's any way we can infect the central system.  It's bound to have plenty of defenses against such things."  Sara said.  

Jai winced at the mention of a botched slicing job of his that had nearly cost them several lives.  "I don't need to slice.  If I can get to the computer directly, the virus will get through whatever defenses it has on its own.  If I leave now on a speeder, I can get there in time."  

Sara frowned.  "Nareth is bound to have changed the access code for the main gate by now.  And even if it hasn't been changed, the chances of you getting to that computer and back again without getting killed are probably nil."

"Mari can come with me."  

Mari gave him a sharp look.  "Speak for yourself.  I don't remember volunteering for any suicide missions."

Jai laughed.  "Being an exile here is in itself one big suicide mission."  

Sara considered.  "Do you even have a plan?"

Jai shrugged.  "Nah.  Well, not really.  I was thinking I could pose as a salesperson or something or steal someone's uniform and security pass. You know me, I think better on the spur of the moment."  He offered a half-hearted grin, which did not amuse either Sara or Mari.

"Mari, would you be willing to go with him?  That way if things get too risky I can count on someone to force him to pull out," Sara said, glancing at Jai.

Mari nodded.  "I suppose.  Someone should follow him to keep him from doing something stupid.  Again."

"Hey—" Jai started, but he was cut off by Sara.

"You don't have much time, so get going.  And good luck."

Mari and Jai left, and Sara turned back to Traj.  "Please keep the THC deserter under tight security until I can speak with her personally.  If there are any problems, contact me."  Traj nodded and signed off.

Sara sighed.  She'd just sent two of her closest friends off to what could very well be their deaths.  But it could be their only chance at survival.   They didn't stand a chance against a normal army of that size, let alone a cybernetically enhanced one.  Reluctantly, she tucked the communication device under one arm and went to find the Jedi so she could inform them of the recent developments.

The Jedi took the news considerably well, considering how crazy her plan was.   She could tell neither of them, especially Qui-Gon, thought that the plan had a hope of working.  But Qui-Gon had only agreed quietly that this was probably their best plan of action.  Maybe Obi-Wan had told him about their earlier conversation.  It would explain why he was looking at her with such a concerned expression.

She gave them both an irritated look.  "Don't look at me like that.  I'm not dead yet.  This actually improves our chances, you know."

"I think you chances would improve if you left the planet," Obi-Wan stated.

Sara snorted.  "Even if I left, the others wouldn't follow me.  I'd only be saving myself.  What a cowardly thing to do," she admonished.

"And," she continued, "Surely you don't think Nareth would go through all the trouble for cybernetic soldiers just to wipe our little group out, do you?  If he's going to spend that kind of money, you can bet he'll take full advantage of it."

"She has a point," Qui-Gon stated.

Sara crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Obi-Wan.  "See?  You Master agrees with me."

"Now I didn't say that exactly..." Qui-Gon said.   "I merely agreed that you had a point."

"That's not helping," she replied through clenched teeth.  Obi-Wan laughed.

Sara beckoned to him.  "I'd like a word with you, Obi-Wan."  She glanced at Qui-Gon.  "Alone, if that's alright."

"Of course," Qui-Gon replied and gave them some distance.  

Sara turned to Obi-Wan.

"Um, I suppose you can guess what I want to ask you about.  That morning....yesterday I guess."

"Why did you leave like that?  Why...why did you kiss me in the first place?"

There was an uncomfortable silence.  Sara looked at the ground, arms crossed.

Obi-Wan was at a loss for words.  What was he supposed to say?  'Sorry Sara, I thought I was dreaming'?  

Sara shook her head.  "I see how it is.   It's alright.  I understand."  She turned on her heel and started to walk away. 

_"Stupid!" _She thought.  _"I'm such an idiot..."_

Obi-Wan stopped her.  "Sara, wait..."

She ignored him and started to leave again.

_"Just quit while you're behind, Obi-Wan...."_

"Please.... can't I have a chance to explain?"

He sounded pitiful.  That was the only reason Sara turned around.  

"I think I just gave you a chance.  But I guess you can have another one," she said reluctantly.

Obi-Wan realized he had no idea what he was going to say.  So he said nothing.

_"Well....? Spit it out!"_

Sara nodded.  "It's alright.  Just forget it," she said quietly.  This time Obi-Wan didn't try to stop her when she walked off.

Obi-Wan sighed.  "That could have gone a lot better."

Instead of heading to her tent, as she had originally planned, Sara made her way farther from the camp.   She didn't really feel like talking to anyone right then.

But as it turned out, she didn't have any choice.  Not a minute later, one of her soldiers ran over to her, babbling something about unidentified beings heading their way.

Sara, trying not to roll her eyes, followed him back to the camp where five horsemen were waiting, surrounded by curious onlookers.   She noticed the Jedi had arrived before she had.

The nearest horsemen dismounted and walked over to her throwing her a half-hearted, sloppy, casual salute.

 "I believe you called for assistance?"  He had reddish-brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a thin scar extended from under his left eye down his cheek.  

"Are you telling me the cavalry has arrived?"  Sara asked with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded.  "Yeah, that's right."

She glanced at his four comrades who were watching uncertainly.

"All five of you, huh?"  Sara couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused at the man's lazy attitude.  

He shrugged and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness.  "Hey, you aren't exactly the team everyone's betting on right now.  You're lucky to have five of us."

Sara crossed her arms.  "And you would be...?"

"My name's Hoteru Iwansu. We're horsemen from the Makura outpost 'bout a day and a half journey from your canyon city," he explained.  

"I haven't heard of you," she said flatly.  She was aware she was being a little rude, but she wasn't sure she trusted these people.

He smiled, obviously amused by her mistrust.  "Ma'am, when the great city Marwai fell to THC, the residents evacuated.  Not all of them fled to the mountains and the canyon.  There's little outposts like ours all over the planet.  Your people in the canyon put out a call for help to almost every outpost they could locate."

Apparently, Traj was doing his job well.  Sara gave a small bow.  "I see. You're help would be most welcome.  Please, come and have some food and rest."

"Thank you," he replied, returning her half-bow.  He gestured to his comrades and they dismounted.  Sara led them to a clear area where they could set up their tents. She then made sure their horses were taken care of and saw to it that they were given some food.

That evening, they picked up camp and moved out of the forest and into another plain similar to the one Marwai was located at.  They stopped for the night.  

The following morning, they would be able to engage Nareth's army in the last battle for Mirith.

                                                                                    ************

Again, I am SO sorry it took me so long to update.  I'll try not to let it happen again.  Please R&R!  When I see that lots of people are reading, it makes me in more of a hurry to update!  ^_^

I'm sorry if I'm confusing everyone about where exactly they all are.  I'm confusing myself too!  I'll go back and revise it at a later date.  It's too big of a problem to take care of right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Dreaming, chapter 8 

For warnings and disclaimers, see previous chapters.

A/N: Well, it's been a blast.  One more chapter to go.

A/N:  Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far.  Reviews make me joyful beyond belief.

**(Revised)**

The next morning they got an early start.  One of Sara's spies returned, informing Sara that Nareth's troops were exactly where they wanted them.  Jai and Mari reported in — much to Sara's relief.  They were safely hidden within Nareth's now lightly guarded palace and were awaiting her signal to install the virus.  They set up the signal with their comlink so that Sara could signal them at the right time and then said their goodbyes. 

Hoteru had brought a couple extra horses with him, so now Obi-Wan had his own mount.  The horse seemed to know he was inexperienced, and behaved horribly.

Obi-Wan spotted Sara taking her position at the head of the army, and tried to guide his horse in that direction, intending to walk beside her.  But his horse lazily lowered its head and began eating grass.  By the time he reached her, Hoteru had beaten him there.  Deftly guiding his red-brown horse beside Sara's, he immediately struck up a conversation with her.  Obi-Wan frowned at his bad luck.  He had been planning to speak to Sara during their short journey.  He grudgingly took up a position beside Qui-Gon to her right.  

Sara was surprised to see Hoteru come up beside her.  She had been expecting Obi-Wan to walk with her, and was hoping to sort things out, but if he'd rather sulk that was fine with her.  She spotted him next to Qui-Gon who was on her right, looking irritated.  She shrugged.

They walked for less than an hour before Nareth's army came into view.  Nareth was the only one on horseback.  A couple of his men were riding speeders, but the vast majority were on foot.  It was a breathtaking sight.  Hundreds of troops walking in perfect formation, all dressed in black.  Sara could see a mechanism that covered each soldier's right eye and was attached to the forehead

Both armies marched until they were less than one hundred yards apart from each other.   Then Nareth gave the signal for his army to attack and Sara did the same.  The armies collided with force of an explosion.  

Sara had intended to press the button on her comlink (which was tucked into her belt) immediately, but Nareth came at her so quickly she barely had time to turn her horse and bring her sword up to meet his.  The Jedi were forced too far away from her by the raging battle.  They could not help her.

Nareth was much stronger than the last time Sara fought him.  She didn't have time to wonder why.  He knocked her off her horse and threw her onto the ground.   Sara leaped up in time to endure another vicious attack from him.  He had dismounted his horse as well and was attacking her so ferociously that she could hardly defend herself.  She could see that he had replaced the hand she'd rendered almost useless with a mechanical one.  Unfortunately, it worked as well as his old one.

Sara was waiting for an instant where she could give Jai the signal, but she had to use both hands to ward Nareth off.  There was no lull in his assault.  He seemed to have enough energy to attack her like this all day.

Hoteru spotted Sara from a few feet away.  He fended off the soldier who was attacking him and sliced through the cybernetic implant on his head.  The soldier fell to his knees clutching at his head.  Hoteru glanced back at Sara.  She had not had time to give Jai the signal.  It didn't look like she'd be able to if this went on much longer.  He looked at the sword in his hand.  He had no blaster. Without it he'd be a sitting duck, but what choice did he have?

He grasped the sword in his right hand and threw it at Nareth as hard as he could.  Nareth, caught off guard, pivoted to knock it away.  Sara turned in his direction, surprised.  Hoteru gave her a thumbs-up.  It was short-lived.  Not a second later, one of Nareth's soldiers caught him in the side with a sword.  Hoteru's eyes widened and he fell off his horse and onto the ground in a heap.  Sara gasped and started to run towards him, but Nareth grabbed her from behind and rested his sword against her throat.

"Don't move," he said.  He let his sword scratch her throat to emphasize his point. 

A small trail of blood trickled from the cut on Sara's throat.  One of her hands was free...if she could just reach her comlink...

Sara hit the button on her comlink.  For a moment, nothing happened.  Suddenly, the soldier nearest to them collapsed.  Then, looking oddly like dominos, Nareth's entire army fell to the ground, immobile.  Sara could see that the soldiers were still breathing, but unconscious.  Around her, she could see some of her people starting to celebrate their victory.  Many were dead, and even more were wounded.  The people who were not celebrating sought out those who had been hurt to care for them.

Nareth tightened his grip on her. She could sense deep hatred in him. "What an interesting little trick.  You will die for that.  But not here, no.  I'll find some other way for you to die.  Slitting your throat would be much too quick, don't you think?"  He started dragging Sara towards a speeder parked a short distance away from the battle.

Sara heard Obi-Wan call her name.  She struggled to turn and saw him running towards her, followed by Qui-Gon.  When they reached Hoteru's unconscious form, Qui-Gon stopped to help him and told Ob-Wan to keep going.  

When Obi-Wan reached them, Nareth spun around, holding the sword against Sara's throat threateningly.  "Not another step, Jedi, or she dies," he snarled.

Obi-Wan stopped, looking stricken.  Sara caught his eye and shook her head.  "Just forget about me...there is nothing you can do."

Obi-Wan's head was spinning.  Nothing he could do?  There had to be something...anything.  He couldn't let her die.  He had promised himself she wouldn't die."

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.  "Take me, instead."

"_No_!" Sara yelled, struggling against Nareth's iron grip.  "Leave!  Run away!  Don't you _dare_ try to exchange your life for mine!  My life...is worthless, Obi-Wan.   I have no future.  I would much rather die knowing you went on living."

The moment the words left her mouth, she knew it was a mistake.  

Nareth smiled, looking much like a predator who has just closed in on its prey.  "Yes, Jedi.  I accept your terms.  Lay your lightsaber on the ground and put both hands in the air.  One wrong move and I will kill her."

Obi-Wan did as Nareth asked and walked forward slowly.  When he was close enough, Nareth shoved Sara away from him and moved his sword to Obi-Wan's throat.

Qui-Gon looked up and saw what was happening.  He leaped to his feet and started towards them, hand outstretched.  

"Slitting your throat would be much too elegant.  I think we'll give you a proper death, Jedi," Nareth said.  Quicker than anyone could have imagined, he pulled out a blaster.  Just as he squeezed the trigger, Qui-Gon used the Force to knock his blaster away.

But it was too late.  Qui-Gon only managed to knock the blaster a fraction of an inch before the blaster bolt shot cleanly through Obi-Wan's chest, near his heart.  Nareth, smirking, shoved Obi-Wan forward.  Sara ran forward and half-caught him before he hit the ground.  Sara fell to her knees, cradling Obi-Wan.  

"Don't die...don't you dare die.  Do you hear me Obi-Wan?!  Are you listening to me?"  Sara gave him a little shake.  "_Open your eyes, dammit!"_

Obi-Wan was vaguely aware that he was lying on the ground, bleeding.  He could hear Sara yelling at him.  He opened his eyes.  He could see Sara's face hovering above him, and beside her was Qui-Gon.  The pain he felt quickly faded to a dull throb, and sleepiness overtook him.  The last thing he felt before falling unconscious was tear drops on his face.

'_Sara....'_

Sara heard laughing behind her and turned slowly.  Nareth was laughing at her, eyes filled with malice.  Sara spotted one of her soldiers nearby.

"Seize him!"  She ordered.  The soldier drew a blaster and pointed it at Nareth.  He was led away, still laughing.

Sara pressed her hand over Obi-Wan's wound, trying to stop or at least slow down the bleeding while she shouted orders to nearby people to get her a medic as soon as possible.  

Qui-Gon carried his apprentice to the nearest of the small tents that had been set up as emergency medical centers.  The medic, a former apprentice of Reiah's, shooed Qui-Gon and Sara out of the tent.  Sara sat outside the tent, looking more upset than anyone had seen her before.  Qui-Gon paced restlessly.                 

"It's all my fault you know.  If I had just kept my mouth shut he'd be safe," Sara muttered.

Qui-Gon stopped pacing.    "What do you mean?"

Sara explained what had happened.  "I should have kept quiet.  Nareth would have just taken me instead."  Her voice was empty and dead sounding.

Qui-Gon shook his head.  "No.  It was not your fault.  Nareth shot Obi-Wan.  Not you."

Sara nodded, but didn't look any happier.  They waited for over five hours before the medic finally came back out and said they could see Obi-Wan.  He also told them they could expect him to make a full recovery.

Sara walked as quickly as she could into the tent without running.  Qui-Gon followed her.  She knelt next to Obi-Wan's cot peering over at him.  Obi-Wan opened his eyes.  

"Hello," he said, offering a weak smile.

"Obi-Wan...are you alright?"  Sara asked anxiously.

 "I think so.  You have a good medical team," he replied.

"Good."  Sara swung back her right hand and promptly slapped Obi-Wan across the face.

He blinked and raised a hand to his face.  "What was that for?"   Qui-Gon was about to ask her the same thing.

"_Damn_ you, If you _ever _do something like that again...I swear...I'll....I'll...I don't know what I'll do, but you won't like it!"  She shouted.   Then she stormed out of the room in a fury.

Obi-Wan blinked.  Qui-Gon started laughing.

"I didn't think it was that funny..."

Sara made her way to the person she'd put in charge of head counts.  

"Give me our status," she said sharply.

"We have had a total of seventy-eight casualties.  Thirty-two are dead, forty-six are wounded."

"What about Hoteru Iwansu?  Is he alive?"  She inquired.

The woman checked her list.  "He's in critical condition.  They've already moved him to Marwai."  Earlier, Sara had ordered some of her people to gather speeders and move the most grievously wounded people to the better-equipped medical centers in the city, which was now free for the taking.

Sara bit her lip.  She prayed Hoteru would live so she could thank him.

"I want you to have someone find a ship in the city and use it to bring Reiah Lan there.  Please tell her to give Mr. Iwansu priority."

The woman nodded and Sara went on to ask,  "What about Jai and Mari?" 

"They've already returned.  Jai received a minor injury and is waiting to be attended to," she replied.

"Where?"

The woman pointed to a tent a few meters away.  "Over there."

Sara thanked her and headed for the tent.  She could see Mari and Jai sitting outside.  Jai was holding a cloth to his arm, which had a nasty gash in it.

"I'm so glad you are both safe," Sara greeted when she reached them.

"And you, as well," Mari replied.  She lowered her voice.  "We heard about Obi-Wan.  Is he alright?"

Sara nodded.  "For the most part.  Jai, what happened to your arm?"

"Just a scratch," he said with a shrug.  

"Let me see that," Mari commanded.  It didn't sound like the first time she'd asked him.  "If you'd just let me bandage it, it wouldn't hurt so much."

Jai jerked his arm away.  " No way!"

Mari crossed her arms.  "You're such a baby."

Sara laughed.  "Well, I'm glad you're safe.  I'd better go check on Obi-Wan and see if he's mad at me for slapping him."

Jai and Mari blinked at her.  "Why'd you do something like that?"  Mari asked.

Sara shook her head.  "I'll explain later.  Bye!"  She hurried back to Obi-Wan's tent.  

He was sleeping.  Qui-Gon was seated in a chair in the corner, eyes closed.  Sara made her way over to Obi-Wan's cot and knelt down silently.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan.  Even though you did deserve that," she muttered.

Obi-Wan opened one eye.  "Whatever you say, milady."

Instead of getting angry again, as Obi-Wan expected her to, she just squeezed his hand.

"In an hour or two, we can move you into the city and get you some better medical care," she assured him.  

Obi-Wan was about to say something, but Sara's comlink signaled.  She picked it up and a conversation followed.  When it was done, she sighed, shaking her head.  

"I must go.  I'm needed to organize things in the city.  I'll make sure you're moved into the city as soon as possible." and without another word she strode quickly from the room.

Obi-Wan sighed.  It seemed that every time he wanted to talk to her she was rushing out the door somewhere.

"She needs a vacation."

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One chapter left and then it's sayonara to this story!  I hope you've all enjoyed it so far.  I really love your reviews so, as always, please R&R!  I'll try to get the last chapter finished quickly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dreaming, chapter 9 (final chapter)**

**A/N: Well, I've really enjoyed this, guys! Thank you all for your feedback! Enjoy the final chapter!**

**Revised as of March 2005**

* * *

Hours later, Sara finally felt like everything was getting more under control. Sara had started organizing the move back into the city immediately, before THC could have enough time to take hold again. Needless to say, the move back into Marwai was a bit chaotic. Some people had to be sent back to the canyon to help everyone there pack their belongings and to guide them to Marwai. Several people returned to find their homes gone or changed into something else. Some simply did not have homes in Marwai yet. Many people needed medical care so the med centers had to be opened and running immediately. More THC members were arrested and a place where they could be confined was needed.

And of course, no one felt like they could do anything without consulting her first. By the time things were running a little more smoothly, Sara was ready to start ripping her hair out.

She was only briefly able to visit Hoteru in the med center, who was still unconscious and not doing so well. She wanted to visit Obi-Wan as well, but someone else called her away...

She was summoned to the place where Nareth was being held — a prison area not far from the palace. He glanced up when she entered.

"Hello, Miss Garnett. How's your knight in shining armor doing?"

Sara scowled at him. "Very well. Not that it's any of your business."

Nareth smirked. "So... what are you going to do with me? What manner of execution?"

Sara shook her head. "No, Nareth. I haven't decided what to do with you, but I won't kill you. It's not my style. Sorry to disappoint you."

Nareth closed his eyes and sighed. "Going to ship me off to some high-security galactic prison?"

Sara considered. "That sounds interesting."

Nareth opened his eyes again and gave her a speculative glance. "If I tell you a special secret, will you let me go?" he asked in his mocking tone.

Sara snorted. "Yeah right. Tell me the secret and I'll consider going easy on you."

Nareth sighed. "I guess that will have to do. The secret is that I was using spice when we dueled. And during the battle. It's a sensory-enhancement spice called andris. You know it?"

Sara blinked at him. "Well that makes me feel better about my fencing skills..."

"My sentence?" He inquired.

Sara frowned. "That wasn't very helpful information. But if you help me out with some details about how much you've screwed up everything here, maybe I'll consider going easy on you."

Nareth shrugged. "What can I do in your merciless hands? It's a deal."

"Good. I have to go take care of some more things. I'll send someone to question you."

As Sara was heading back to the palace, she was approached by Reiah.

"Hoteru will recover. I thought you would like to know," she said, brushing at a strand of blonde hair that fell into her eyes.

"Couldn't you have told me that over the comlink?" Sara asked irritably. "I'm really busy here."

"Yes, but Hoteru requested to see you. I thought you would want to speak with him as well." Reiah sighed. "Besides, he was driving me crazy. I need a good reason to get away from him."

"Alright, I understand," Sara said, and headed to the med ward.

Hoteru was still lying in the hospital bed with an IV attached to his left arm. The difference was that he was conscious. He gave a very weak wave as Sara walked in.

"Hello, Hoteru. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. How 'bout you?" His voice was hoarse.

"Thanks to you, I'm still alive. I owe you my life, Hoteru, and I want to thank you for it. Is there anything I can do? A favor?" Sara asked.

Hoteru smiled a little deviously. "Well...first of all, I like this city. It's much better than that little outpost at Makura. I'd like to live here, if that's all right."

Sara nodded. "Of course. Anything else?"

Hoteru glanced at the door. "That medic...Reiah...she isn't...seeing anyone...is she?" He raised his eyebrows hopefully.

Sara started at Hoteru wide-eyed. Then she broke out laughing. "No, not that I know of."

He grinned. "Do you think you could put in a good word for me?"

Sara laughed. "Yes of course. Is that all Hoteru? You ask very little of me."

"Nah, I'm good. I think my comrades would rather stay in Makura. They all have families there."

Sara had an idea. "Say Hoteru, you'll be needing a job, right? Would you like a position in my council? We need someone who's familiar with the different outposts around Mirith."

Hoteru blinked. "That'd be great!"

Sara smiled. "Alright then." Her comlink started beeping again. She frowned and answered it.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Please report to your quarters, milady." It sounded like Obi-Wan. Sara sighed.

"Is this some kind of joke?" She asked, annoyed. But the person on the other line cut off the connection. She put her comlink away.

"I'm sorry Hoteru, but I have to go. I've been called away again."

He frowned. "Does that happen to you a lot?"

She laughed mirthlessly. "You have no idea."

"Maybe you should just throw it out the window."

"Yeah. I probably should. I'll see you later." And with that, Sara was off again.

She made her way quickly from the Palace medical center to her quarters upstairs. When she opened the door, Obi-Wan was waiting for her.

"Hello, Sara."

She hugged him. "How are you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he replied.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened. You weren't even supposed to be here." Her heart sank as she realized he wouldn't be here for much longer.

"It's alright. I wanted to be here."

Sara pulled away and walked over to the window and opened it. She didn't turn around, but instead rested her elbows on the windowsill and stared out at the cloudy sky.

Obi-Wan followed her, looking concerned. "Is...something wrong?"

"You... you never...explained," she said quietly.

Obi-Wan was about to ask what, and then remembered. He felt awful about it, but he didn't know how he could justify it.

_"I at least owe her an explanation...no matter how much she hates me afterwards."_

"Sara, I, um...I kissed you because..."

_"Because..."_

"Because I...um..."

_"Because I love you..."_

"Because I love you..." Obi-Wan said, surprised even as the words left his mouth.

_"Why did I say that!"_

Because it was true, he realized.

Sara smiled, but stayed facing the window. "I suppose I knew that...I just...why didn't you say something sooner? I guess I know why you didn't though. You know we can't..." She finally turned to face him.

Couldn't what? Couldn't love one another? Sara was at a loss.

Obi-Wan embraced Sara. His shoulder burned in protest, but he ignored it. "Sara...I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, Obi-Wan. I asked, and you answered. But...we couldn't...could we?"

Obi-Wan looked uncomfortable. "It's against the code."

"I know. But I love you anyway."

Obi-Wan smiled at her and kissed her warmly on the lips. Sara allowed it to continue only for a moment before she gently pushed him away.

"It would be pointless. You'd be breaking the rules for nothing. We'd probably wouldn't see one another for years at a time," she said, turning away and walking back over to the window. She leaned on the windowsill, a troubled expression on her face.

"If you asked me to, I'd leave the Jedi."

Sara half-turned and shot him a glare. "Don't even think about doing such a thing. Especially not for me. I will not be responsible for something like that."

Obi-Wan was silent, thinking. Sara turned back to face him and smiled. "Hey, you said we could correspond, right? Obi-Wan, I would like to continue to be your friend."

Obi-Wan nodded after a moment's hesitation. "I would like that."

"If you ever need my help for any reason, you can call on me," she said, holding out a hand to shake. "Friends?"

Obi-Wan took her hand and smiled. "Friends. And the same goes for you."

The Jedi stayed only for three more days, long enough to ensure that Marwai was stable. Sara spent as much time as possible with her friends, though that wasn't much. She was busier than she'd ever been, putting the city back together.

All too soon it was time for the Jedi to leave. This time their transport was able to land just outside Marwai. Sara came alone to tell them goodbye. The Jedi had already said their farewells to Jai and Mari and the others. Sara hugged her friends.

"I'll miss you."

Obi-Wan embraced her again. "I'll miss you too."

"I'll see you again. I promise."

"I know. " Sara stepped back. "Farewell. Mirith won't forget you. We're indebted to you. Anytime a Jedi needs refuge or help, know that they are welcome here."

"I'm glad we could be of help to you," Qui-Gon replied.

Sara turned abruptly. "So long. Have a safe journey." Without another word she began walking back.

The Jedi boarded their ship and soon took off. Sara half-turned in time to see it disappear into the sky.

She smiled.

* * *

Epilogue

Obviously if you've read "Memory" you already know that Obi-Wan and Sara ended up getting married (Sometime after Ep. III) and having a kid named Anna. Yay.

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**FINALLY IT'S DONE!** I'm so sorry it took me so long. If I feel talented at some point, I'll write you a bonus epilogue story thingy. I also revised the entire story and made it better.

Thank you to all my reviewers. Your kind words really meant a lot to me.


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